Jeremiah o meara



n1. 0 6 1K 1 1 6 h. Au f. 6 b A M .Rllu DE E d S. MT 1 M .Sna J W1 u V O 6 r H .T.. 1" 0 1 nm 1 U u 9 m n 3 0 a 2 M M O N Patented March 22,1881.

jzve zor. I

UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

JEREMIAH OMEARA", OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GORHAM F. BASSE'I, OF HYANNIS, MASS.

MANUFACTURE OF WASHERS, DISKS, AND THE LIKE OF VULCANIZED RUBBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,111, dated March 22,1881,

Application filed September 27, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEREMIAH OMEARA, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Washers, Disks, and the Like of Vulcanized Rubber; and Idohereby declare the following i to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

t This invention relates to improvements in the manufa cture of'the material shown and described in United States Letters Patent N 0. 208,419, granted to me September 24, 1878; and the invention has for its object to facilitate the division of such material into disks or rings for use as washers, &c., in steam, water, and other pipes, cocks, valves, &c.

The invention consists in forming tubes or sticks of vulcanized-rubber compound, partly cut through or divided into rings or disks of dilferentwidths, according to the use to which the material is to be applied.

Referring to my patentabove mentioned, my presentinven tion may be illustrated by cutting a number of parallel incisions extending partly through and entirely around the tubes therein shown, so that such partly-severed portions may be held together by an internal web or thin skin, which may be readily cut through with an ordinary knife when desired for use, and without detaching the other portions, so that, for instance, a plumber or other mechanic may throw into his kit sticks of my partly-cut washers without fear or liability of damaging them among his tools, and in such shape that'he will have no difficultyin finding the size he wants and no trouble or loss of time in preparing them for application.

In practicing my invention I form tubes or sticks of a composition preferably made of rubber and plumbago, or rubber, plumbago, and asbestus, and in a variety of shapes and sizes, according to the uses to which it is to be applied. 1 put these tubes or sticks in vulcanizing-molds and subject them to heat for ten or fifteen minutes, and then remove them to a gage-lathe having a cutter, with which I make a number of parallel incisions in the circumference,extending inwardly to within a sixteenth or thirty-second of an inch of the core or center, or to sucha depth as to leave an internal skin or web of suflicient strength to hold the partly cut through portions togcther as a body. I then replace such partly cut through tubes or sticks in the vulcanizingmolds and subject them to various degrees and durations of heating, according to the degree of hardness desirei. The incisions having been made when the compound has been partially cured, the subsequent Vulcanization will not close such incisions, as is well known to workers in rubber, and the article is finished with the incisions perfectly marked and open, so that a knife can be readily applied in the cut to sever the skin or web to remove a portionofthe tube or stick, and a completely-formed washer thereby instantly obtained. I gage the distance between the incisions in accordance with the use to which the cur-01f portions are to be applied; andI may make all the cuts of equal distance apart 1n a stick or tube, or they may be varied so that in the one case washers of uniform thicknesss may be cut from the tube, or in the other case washers of diiferent thicknesses maybe had. In either case the washers, disks, or rings will individually be of uniform thickness throughout; but there may be washers of different widths or thickness made in a single stick, and this latter will be found very convenient in making a close fit in old pipes, &c. These tubes or sticks thus partly out through I make in sizes for use in packing piston-rods, pumps, valve-stems, unions, hot

and cold water cocks, faucets, glass gages, couplings, 86G. Washers are thus provided in a cheap, convenient form, ready for immediate use orapp1ication,without waste of cutting, &c.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figurel is aperspective view of a tube or stick of union washers, showing the incisionsat different distances apart, and Fig. 2 is a cross-section thereof. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are perspective views of tubes or sticks partly cut through, and for use respectively as plumbers washers or valve-disks, valve-stern packing, and basin cock-seats. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are perspective views of severed washers cut in various formsto facilitate their application to valve-stems &c.

The tubes or sticks a, of the propersize and shape, after receiving a preliminary hardening, as described, are removed from the molds and revolved ina lathe, andbymeansofgaged cutters parallel incisions b are made therein, which extend to within a short distance-say one-sixteen th or one thirty-second of an inchof the core or center, and so as to leave a thin skin or web, 0, interiorly of the tubes, sufficiently strong to hold together the divided portions.

As before said, when a washer is desired the proper size is found,and by means of a knife inserted in the cut and drawn through the skin 0 a disk or ring is severed in shape and condition for immediate use.

What I claim is- 1. The improvement in the art of making tubes or sticks of Washers or packing which consists in forming the material into tubes or sticks, partly vulcanizing the same, dividing them into washer-widths by incisions extending part way through, and finally completely vulcanizing them, substantially as described.

2. In the manufacture of tubes or sticks of 30 washers or packing, the division of such tubes or sticks into partly-severed widths held together by a skin or web to preserve the integrity of the tube or stick and admit of the easy severance of a washer-width, substantially as described.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a tube or stick of packing material divided into a number of connected sections or washersby means of incisions extending part way through the tubeto facilitatethe cutting ofi'ofa washer, disk, or ring, substantially as described.

4. A tube or stick of packing material di vided into a number of connected sections, washers, rings, or disks of equal or unequal widths or thicknesses, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses. I

JEREMIAH OMEARA. 

